This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 24, 2012 - Missouri state Treasurer Clint Zweifel may have unsettled his Republican opposition when his office received an “excellent’’ rating today for its internal operations.
The “excellent’’ rating came from the office of state Auditor Tom Schweich, a Republican. So is state Rep. Cole McNary, R-Chesterfield, who is about to formally launch his bid to unseat Zweifel, a Democrat seeking his second term this fall.
As the Beacon previously reported, several top Republicans – including Schweich’s mentor, former Sen. John C. Danforth – will be cohosting an event for McNary at the Bogey Club on March 7.
Schweich’s office conducts an annual audit of the treasurer's office, because it handles state money.
His report states that a excellent rating means: “The audit results indicate this entity is very well managed. The report contains no findings. In addition, if applicable, prior recommendations have been implemented.”
Said Zweifel in a statement: “This ‘Excellent’ audit rating has been given on less than 3 percent of the Auditor’s audits, and shows we are getting results for Missourians in a responsible way,”
“Those results are clear – we protected Missouri’s stellar Aaa bond rating, reduced spending, achieved record growth for our college savings plan, invested more money than ever before in Missouri jobs, entrepreneurs and farms and returned the most Unclaimed Property in state history," Zweifel said. "I appreciate Auditor Schweich’s efforts in reviewing my office, and am proud to receive an ‘Excellent’ rating.”
